Missouri Lawmaker Wants Women to Give Reason For Abortion

Measure would require Missouri women to come prepared to the doctor's office.

​State Senator Tom Dempsey (R - St. Peters) has proposed legislation that would ask Missouri women to provide a reason for why they're seeking an abortion.

As the Associated Press reports this morning, Dempsey's proposal would require doctors and medical officials to ask women about the specific medical, social or economic reasons for
seeking the procedure. Women would not have to respond.

Dempsey says it would be useful to know why women have abortions. His recommendation is part of a bill sponsored by his Senate colleague Rob Mayer (R - Dexter) that would require women to wait 24 hours before having an abortion and be informed of the pain the fetus would endure as a result of the procedure.